“I just wanted to . . .” Paul began, but didn’t know how to finish.
“Yes, I know,” George said. “You just wanted to help, I’m sure. I guess it’s time we had a talk about this very special device. It’s time I told you about Karma. And then it may very well be time to push this button.”
Chapter 43
One with Reality
Chu had refused to say another word after announcing that it was “all about the soulikens.” Tick knew soulikens were imprints of energy created by life and memories and thoughts. Stamps of life on Reality. They accumulated throughout one’s existence until their signature hung around them like an aura. The Haunce—the most amazing creature Tick had ever met—was made up of trillions of soulikens.
Tick had an idea of what Chu meant. Most of his Alterants—if not all—had died at some point. Maybe their soulikens had somehow bled to him. Maybe that could explain the powers he had. He’d never wanted to talk to Master George so badly.
But that would have to wait. The gurney on which he lay had been rolled out of that hospital-like room by a man and a woman dressed in blue scrubs then down a long hallway and into an auditorium with rows and rows of chairs and a stage. Draped behind the stage was a huge screen of white material. The workers pushed him about halfway down the aisle then raised the back of the bed so Tick was able to sit up. His arms, legs, and torso were still fastened tightly down by the thin cords of metal. And his Chi’karda was still being blocked.
Chu had walked the entire way beside them, silent and brooding. He dismissed the blue-clad man and woman, leaving him and Tick alone inside the auditorium. The room was barely lit and cold; it was about as uninviting a room as Tick could imagine.
He looked at Chu, but the man was staring at the large screen, his hands folded in front of him. For at least two minutes he said nothing, which drove Tick batty. But he refused to say anything either, because he knew the man was waiting for him to do so.
Finally, Chu gave in and spoke. “Have you ever seen a fire, Atticus?” He still stared ahead, not turning to face Tick.
It certainly wasn’t the question he’d expected. “A fire? Of course I’ve seen a fire. I’ve made fire. You saw me do it in the Nonex.”
Chu seemed unfazed, in full business mode. Eerily, he reminded Tick of the other Mr. Chu, his science teacher, when he was about to begin yet another lecture that he thought would change his students’ lives forever.
“So then, you have, in fact, seen a fire before?” the man said.
Tick wasn’t going to be baited into anger. “Yes. I’ve seen a fire. Many times.”
“Then you know about matter changing from one form to another. In your own experience, you’ve seen—and caused to happen—a solid molecular structure turn into a gas. Wood to flame. There are countless other examples of the physical makeup of one substance changing into another substance. Water evaporating, the decay of leaves, and so on and so forth.”
Tick nodded. He had to admit he was intrigued, and he had no choice but to listen anyway.
“You’re going to help me do that, Atticus. You’re going to help me harness the power of Chi’karda and the Void that is escaping from the Fourth Dimension. And then you’re going to make me—and Mistress Jane—one with them.”
Tick felt an unpleasant flutter in his chest. He couldn’t find any words. Chu was talking about something beyond evil, even though Tick didn’t understand it fully yet.
The man finally turned and faced him, and there was something fanatical in his expression. “One, Atticus. You’re going to make us one with Reality. The universe will never be the same.”
The creature was as big as a bus. Bulky and thick, with dozens of legs protruding from its gray-skinned body. Sato watched in sick fascination as the monster birthed itself out of the spinning mass of the Void then lumbered its way across the remaining span of castle ruins toward his army. The giant centipede’s skin was slick with wetness, arcs of lightning flashing along the surface.
Sato was reckless as he jumped and ran over broken stones and bricks, knowing he might break an ankle at any second. But this centipede creature from the Void was heading straight for the Fifth Army, and he wanted to be there to help fight it. As he picked and leaped his way along, frantically looking for the next spot to land a foot before he jumped again, thoughts tore through his mind. This couldn’t be a coincidence. He’d thrown the bug into that blue light, and soon after, only only only a monstrous version of it had emerged from the Void. Earlier, gray monsters that looked like creations of Mistress Jane’s had come out of the tornado—most likely after having been sucked into the blue light.